Why Is SEO Important?

Mark: Hi, I’m Mark Steinbrueck, this is Kurt Steinbrueck, we’re with OurChurch.Com. On this video, we’re going to answer the question, Why is SEO so important?

1. So, to start, just because you have a website doesn’t mean you’re going to rank well.

Kurt, why don’t you talk a little bit about that?

Kurt: Sure. The search engines, they need to know that you exist, they need to know what your website is about and they can’t just intuitively figure it out. So it’s kind of like anything in life, really, if you create something, if you don’t tell people about it, they’re not going to know about.

Mark: Sure.

Kurt: So the search engines are the same way.

First, they need to find your site and then once they find your site,

They need to be able to figure out what your site is about.

And that’s what search engine optimization is all about, is telling the search engines what is your site about and how it should be ranked, for what keywords it should be ranked.

Mark: Right.

Kurt: So you do that by doing the optimization of the site, you tell them that you’re an important site by getting people to link to you and share your content, things like that. You’re telling them that you’re trustworthy, again, to share your content, things like that.

Mark: Yeah. A good example, building a website is just like building a brick and mortar store. If you were to build a store out in the middle of nowhere and you opened it up, turned the lights on and didn’t tell anyone about it, no one’s going to find you. It’s the same thing with a website. Unless you tell the search engines and you’re very intentional in saying exactly, you know, here we are, first of all, list us, and then secondly, these are the keywords that we want to be classified or rank for. They’re not going to know what to do. So it’s very similar in that fashion.

The search engines, where everything starts. What do you mean by that?

Mark: Well, that’s just to say that most people are finding things through the search engines, that’s kind of what we have grown to do at this point as a culture. We go to the search engines, it’s just the easiest way to do it. Sometimes people hear about organizations through social search or social networking, or even word of mouth.

Kurt: Sure.

Mark: But even then, interestingly enough, a lot of times they go to the computer and they search anyways.

Kurt: Right.

Mark: They may search for the organization name, they may not remember the name, and just be searching for something they know is related to it because they can’t remember the name. Either way, if you’re not showing up in the search engines, then they’re not going to find you. Even if they’ve already heard about you. Then for all the other people, which is going to be the majority of people who haven’t already heard about you, they just have to stumble across you in the search engines. So if you’re not there, if you’re not ranking for those things, then they’re never going to find you.

Kurt: Yeah, and studies show that between 60 and 80% of people, when they are looking for something, they start their searches in the search engine. They’re no longer looking in the Yellow Pages, they’re not looking in these little flyers or magazines that show up on their door. They’re going to their computer and they’re searching the search engines. So if you’re not listed in the search engines and not ranked well, you’re missing out on 60-80% of the people that are looking for your organization.

Mark: Yeah, it’s a lot of people. We should also mention that when we say you’re listed or you’re showing up, not just your name.

Kurt: Right.

Mark: We get that from people who are saying, “Oh, you know, we’re ranked for my church in my town, or something, First Baptist Church of Whereversville.” Okay, well, great, you’re one of ten churches in the town and you’re in the top ten, great job.

If people didn’t already know you, though, would they be able to find you? Those are the people that you really want to be able to get to. If all you’re doing is looking at your name and seeing that you’re ranked, that’s not really a standard to judge how well you’re doing in the search engines.

Kurt: Very good point.

2. If you’re not ranked well, people are finding your competition.

That’s an interesting twist. A lot of times people think, “Well, if I’m not ranked well, you know, people aren’t finding me, big deal.” But what are they really finding?

Mark: Yeah, and it’s a tricky thing because they’re finding your competition actually means they’re probably not going to do business with you or to join your organization. The way people operate a lot of times is that once they find someone, they tend to stay with them. So think about like with a school. If you have a school and down the road there’s another school and that school is showing up in the search engines but you’re not, then a parent finds that school, they go and visit the school and they sign their child up. Even if they hear about your organization a few months later, they’re not going to move their child. They’ve already put their child in that school and—

Kurt: Made that commitment.

Mark: Yeah. At best a year from now maybe they’d consider it, but usually it takes a lot to cause someone to move from one organization to a competing organization.

Kurt: Sure.

Mark: Even if they hear good things about the other one.

Kurt: Right.

Mark: As long as they’re somewhat satisfied, just our general tendency to not want to move to something new will keep us where we are.

Kurt: Yeah. People are creatures of habit and they typically don’t like change. So to go through the whole process of re-finding or doing another search for another organization, usually people just aren’t going to do it. So if you’re not ranked well, they are going to find your competition instead.

3. Without it, it will be difficult to achieve your goals.

Why don’t you talk a little bit to that?

Mark: You created your website for a purpose. You have a purpose of existing. You have a purpose that you have your organization and that’s why you have this website and if that website, if people aren’t able to find you, how are you going to achieve that goal? The whole point of what you’re trying to do is to bring these people in and so if you’re not able to do that, then you’re not achieving that goal.

Kurt: Yeah. It’s going to be virtually impossible if 60-80% of the people that are looking for you aren’t able to find you, how can you imagine that you would be able to achieve your goals or your mission?

So in summary, why is SEO so important?

Just because you have a website, doesn’t mean that you’re going to rank well. The search engine is where everything starts, remember, 60-80% of people are starting their searches online in search engines.

If you’re not ranked well, people are finding your competition, they’re not just not finding you, they’re finding someone else to do business with or to attend or join the organization.

Lastly, without it, it will be difficult or virtually impossible to achieve your goals or your mission online.

So we want to thank you for taking this time to watch this video, we hope it has been informative.

If there’s anything that we can do for you here at OurChurch.Com to help you achieve your goals or mission online, please fill out the form below to request a free, no-obligation consultation.

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